Bahrain Government Must Not Arrest and Detain Convicted Medics

07/02/2012

PHR called today for the Government of Bahrain to set aside the recent convictions of 11 medics. Four of the 11 medics that were convicted of participating in and supporting unlicensed protests and rallies currently face arrest and detention.

“These medics must not be returned to jail. Given that many of the medics were tortured while in detention, they should be allowed to stay home during the appeal and should not face any additional jail time,” said Richard Sollom, Deputy Director of PHR.

PHR has continually challenged the legitimacy of the charges against the medics.

“We believe the Kingdom of Bahrain still has time to act before the doctors are arrested and taken to prison,” said Hans Hogrefe, Chief Policy Officer at PHR. “In the past, leading medical organizations have called for the release of the doctors. Today we again call on the voices of medical professionals worldwide to urge the Government of Bahrain to set aside the verdicts and not carry out the sentences.”

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a New York-based advocacy organization that uses science and medicine to stop mass atrocities and severe human rights violations. Learn more here.